There are over 600 commands in the Old Testament.  Jesus said that the #1 command is to “love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, and strength.” Incidentally, he also said that the entire law rests on this command (as well as the command to love one’s neighbor as himself). Get this one right and a lot of the others will fall into line.  But what does it look like to love God in this way?  In all the bible, only one person is said to have loved the Lord in this manner.  To see what this love looks like, one need look no further than…. [link here to the rest of the article]

 

… King Josiah.  Josiah was the last good king of the Southern Kingdom.  Actually, some would say that he was the greatest king who ever governed Israel -divided or unified.

 

Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.  – II Kings 23:25

 

Let’s start at the beginning.

 

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father,…

II Chronicles 34:1-3a

 

One might think that “of course, Josiah sought after God… he was from David’s line.  They all sought after God.”  Not so much.  Josiah was not a likely candidate to seek God.  One night when he was only eight years old, some bad guys crept into his house, just down the hall from his bedroom, and assassinated his dad. What does that do to a little boy’s psyche?

 

Between Josiah’s grandfather, Manasseh (the most wicked king in the Southern Kingdom’s history), and his own father, Amon (not a poster child for righteousness himself) Judah was a spiritual dumpster fire by the time Josiah took over.  Judah was a veritable “Gods R Us,” “God-topia” “No God left behind,” “God-smorgasbord.”  In Judah you could find altars to Baal, Ashtaroth, the sun, the moon, the starry hosts, Chemosh, Molech, and Milcom.  Witches, mediums, and sorcerers were also part of the hyper-inclusive landscape.  People worshipped whoever, whenever, however, wherever they wanted.  Everybody was a priest.  Nothing was off limits.  Child sacrifice, drunken orgies, and cultic prostitutes were regular parts of Judah’s liturgy.  This is the water Josiah swam in. 

 

Also, it seems that Manasseh had outlawed the word of God. It had disappeared from Judah’s life.  Josiah grew up without any portion of scripture.

 

Josiah is 16 years of age, with no limits of authority or finances.  At 16, wine, women, and song were his for the claiming.  Instead, at 16 years of age, against all odds, Josiah decides that God is going to be a part of his life.  God will not be a spoke on the wheel; however, God is going to be the hub.  And we know what happens when you get serious about seeking God.

 

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 

– Jer. 29:13

 

We can postulate forever on how Josiah got to this place but, whatever means God used, we know the Holy Spirit was a part of it.  And Josiah responded.  And this decision set him on a life trajectory that earned him the title of one who loved God with everything.

 

We all know that this is not a decision you make once (though it does have to have that initial commitment) but is an everyday deal.  “Today, Lord, my life is going to be about seeking you.”  I wish I could tell you that it has been an every-day commitment for me, but the truth is, there have been seasons where I got too caught up in life… in ministry.  Maybe you are in such a season.   I know your heart cry is to love the Lord with everything you have but, perhaps today you are riding on yesterday’s commitment. Perhaps, you would be good to take a few moments to think through your initial commitment to God.  When did he get a hold of you?  How did you respond?  What did that initial commitment to follow him with everything look like?  And maybe that review will land you on your knees making the commitment anew. 

 

P.S.  Josiah’s story is found in II Kings 22-23, and II Chronicles 34-35.  Why not take some QT to do a deep dive into Josiah’s life to see what other characteristics are part of a life that loves the Lord with all of their heart, soul, and might?